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If you live in a cold climate, it is important to prepare your garden for the cold winter months. Although most places it has just turned to fall, it is never too early to start thinking about how you can protect your garden. Some plants are not strong enough to survive the winter months unprepared and you should take action to protect them if you wish to keep them. Preparing for winter is also a great time to do some simple jobs around the yard and garden saving you time when spring finally rolls around.

Delicate plants like herbs will not survive a harsh winter. Preserving these kinds of plants is as simple as gently pulling them out of the ground and bringing them inside planted in a pot for the winter. You will be able to replant them when the cold weather is over.

When you think about fall, you might think of beautiful, colorful falling leaves. As beautiful as these leaves are, leaving them on your lawn or in your garden can harm your garden and grass over the gold winter months. Be sure to rake them up before winter weather arrives. While you are at it, take the time to trim back any perennial plants that need trimming and weed your garden. Taking these steps will help protect your grass and plants during the winter, give your garden and lawn a cleaner look and give you a head start come spring. When you are done trimming and raking, be sure to add the healthy clippings and leaves to your compost pile. After a few months of decomposing, this compost will be a great additive to your garden.

If you have a vegetable garden, fall is the time for planting certain vegetables like broccoli, peas, lettuce and other greens. Before you plant be sure to clean up your garden and add new materials like compost to help your garden grow well.

Certain plants, like roses, require some extra attention is you would like them to have the best chance of surviving the winter and thriving the following spring and summer. There is some disagreement among gardening experts when it comes to how much needs to be done to protect roses in the winter and whether or not roses are even a good candidate for surviving the harsh winter months. But at the very least you should add a thick layer of soil and mulch around the base of the plant to help protect it from the harsh frost and cold.

Taking some time to prepare your garden for the winter each year will help save you time during the busy spring gardening season and help you to have a beautiful garden and yard year after year.